The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1891. The Rivals

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 56, 7 November 1891, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1891. The Rivals

Although it appears id us rather late in the day, yet the agitation on the subject of the rival routes of railway, the Stratford and the Central, is receiving an immense amount of attention in. Auckland and Wellington. At first Auckland "made the running" and when the Taranaki and Marton folks began to rally their forces for and against each other, it at last struck the Wellingtonians that they were in some degree interested, so they have since joined in the discussion. In point of fact Wellington haa more to lose by a change of route than Auckland has to gain, and it is a good thing for the Metropolitan City to arrive at that knowledge. Our readers are doubtless already well posted up in the arguments adyanced by the supporters of the Strafford. route. In our opinion they are those of men who only view the matter from the stand point of their own selfishness, while -those who argue in favor of the already chosen central line are justified by the fact that the latter was selected after the merits of its rival had been subjected to the mo3t crucial tests made by -the . acutest experts in the colony. One good must result from;, the present agitation which is, that, everybody with a grain of common sense will see the paramount necessity .which even now obtains for the colony to acquire the WBUington-Manawatu Railway. Every mile of rail extended into the magnificent timber forests and farm land which the central line has tapped, adds to the value of the Company's line by the consequent augmentation of goods, timber, and passenger traffic. Once that line is the property of the colony, and the central line is opened through the North Island, the revenue will be far greater than even the most sanguine can anticipate, and while 1 Wellington will become the absolute central shipping port of the colony, with Auckland almost a suburb of its present rival, ' yet the advantages of direct land communication with We'l r lington will more than compensate for the humiliation. Any benefits Auckland might derive from the other route by securing the trade of the Taranaki and other West Coast townships down as fat as, say, Marton, would not equal the trade from the settlements which will certainly spring up on each side of the central line, of which it is. only reasonable to expect she would receive her share. In conclusion we think we are safe in saying that the Auckland excitement is " shoddy" and is only got up to frighten bur somewhat timid administration into doing something, or into making some concession • to quiet them. Auckland is not too prosperous juat now, and the expenditure of public money would be a panacea for many evils which at present exist there. ____________